Evolution

Question 1

What was Lyell state?

Answer 1

fossils were evidence of animals that existed millions of years ago

and the Earth was shaped by forces, such as sedimentation in rivers, wind erosions and deposition of ash and lava from volcanic eruptions

Question 2

What were the significance of Lyell’s discovery?

Answer 2

Contradicted the common view that God formed the earth

prompted Darwin to think of evolution as a slow process

Question 3

What were Darwin’s observations on the Galapagos islands?

Answer 3

observed finches

the birds were similar in many ways, thus be closely related

but they had differences in their beaks and claws

Question 4

What was Darwin’s conclusion?

Answer 4

the design of the finches’ beaks was linked to the foods available on each island

he concluded that bird born with a beak is more suited to the food available

Question 5

How does this relate to natural selection?

Answer 5

the bird with the beak that was more suited would be able to survive longer than the bird with a beak less suited

therefore it would have more offspring, passing on its characteristic beak, therefore the finch population with this beak would increase

Question 6

Why was Darwin’s theory not widely believed?

Answer 6

conflicted the religious view that God has created all the animals and plants on Earth in their current form, and 6,000 years ago

Darwin’s theory was that humans have evolved from apes, which conflicted with the view that God made man in his own image